Plugging into the electric-car market

Henrietta Cook

As electric cars trickle on to Australian roads, companies that operate recharge facilities are gearing up for big business.

Electric car infrastructure company Better Place is valued at $2.25 billion and plans to create the world's largest electric car network in Australia.

''By the end of 2013 we are looking at hundreds of battery-switch stations across Australia and tens of thousands of locations where people can recharge,'' Better Place Australia head of strategy Ben Keneally said.

The company's ambitious scheme begins with plug-in points and battery swapping stations to operate in Canberra next year.

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The next stage is the eastern seaboard, with similar infrastructure in the pipeline for Melbourne.

''We are in discussion with many property owners about where we will place the battery-swapping stations. It will start with a few dozen in Melbourne but will expand over time. We have to have enough so that they are in the locations people want to go as the cars become more commonplace,'' Mr Keneally said.

''Range anxiety'' - a fear of electric cars running out of charge on a journey, is a key barrier to mass adoption of electric cars, he said.

''For most people, plugging in at night is all you need to do; that will give you 100 to 200 kilometres of range. For those occasions when you are driving further, you need a way of quickly recharging and continuing.''

Battery-swapping stations provide the ideal solution. Motorists swipe a membership card, pass through boom gates and park on an automatic track similar to a car wash. A metal arm reaches beneath the car, removes the 280 kilogram battery and replaces it with a recharged one. The process takes about four minutes.

The company recently secured $200 million in funding from investors and partners including General Electric and global banking group UBS. In the next few months it will launch a commercial electric car network in Israel and Denmark.

Mr Keneally said Australia was an ideal location for an electric car network because petrol was expensive.

''Petrol is the single most hated purchase in people's lives. Because we live in suburbs, are very car dependent and drive larger cars than people in Europe, our average petrol bills are quite high.''

He said access to off-street parking also made Australia suitable for an electric car network.

Better Place has been in talks with local, state and federal governments about regulatory issues involved in rolling out the network. ''There are a lot of laws and regulations we never anticipated,'' Mr Keneally said.

The company, which will use 100 per cent green energy, also must negotiate with councils that own kerbsides.

4 comments so far

Do I detect another Dot.Com bubble? Here we have a start-up company with an idea that will cost >$2.5 billion to implement, with no guarantee that the one car (Renault Fluence) so far slated to use the swappable battery likely to actually sell in Australia in any significant number to be commercially viable. There are many reason why car manufacturers will not want to use a 280kg battery pack that is removable. Other makes are likely to have their own in car charging. The take up rate in Australia of hybrid and pure EV's and even LPG vehicles indicate that this idea will likely be commercial failure. All those that loudly proclaim the virtues of such a system, or of EV's in general, what EV or hybrid are you driving now? If not, why not. As a long time believer in EV's and hybrids I fully support realistic moves towards such vehicles. I am suspicious of marketing hype that is based on Government, ie taxpayer funding rather than commercial reality. As to the price of petrol/diesel, we are significantly cheaper than most countries worldwide. The government will make up the lost tax dollars elsewhere and the infrastructure cost to provide swap and go will need to be paid for. Don't expect this green energy, another marketing con, to be as cheap as your household electricity.And they reckon they are worth $2,25 billion?

Commenter

Quantum of Solace

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

December 13, 2011, 12:04AM

@QoSIf you don't understand the system, don't publicly criticise it. Being negative while showing off your own ignorance doesn't aid the issue.

ie. you ask "do you have an EV? if not, why not?"

The problem for most is the upfront cost, which is the whole point of Better Place's plan. The battery/electricity provide the ability to travel, just like petrol. Turning them into an ongoing cost makes perfect sense. You wouldn't buy 300,000km worth of petrol upfront with your new car. If you did you would notice how stupidly expensive it is to own and run. The sums are in the EV's favour. Spreading out the cost makes it the cheaper option, creating huge demand from the masses.

I can only see one flaw with their proposal - public sentiment. Perhaps, if instead of being cynical and constantly restating imaginary flaws that patently don't exist as if they are some sort of ultimate knock down argument, you - i don't know - tried to understand, or spoke up the positives, society as a whole might get somewhere.

You sound like the "salesmen" in "Who killed the electric car?" when they said "...once we explained potential flaws...". That's what you do if you want to fail. Yet you claim yourself a "supporter". If you must criticise, make it constructive and not an old, discredited, pile of nonsense.

Commenter

Steven

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

December 13, 2011, 8:49PM

Steven being optimistic won't overcome commercial reality. The one positive in the EV equation is the battery lease rather than outright purchase. Otherwise the battery almost doubles the initial purchase price. There is nothing factually incorrect in what I wrote. While Better Place has a marketing model it won't be the only one. The major liquid fuel providers, with substantial infrastructure will also enter the market. A Steven, was it you? made statements about the operation of Better Places that weren't even being made on the Better Places website. I stand behind my previous criticisms of both the Fluence and Better Places. I agree that public sentiment will be a major determinant, hence my cynicism. I will continue to give merit to practical solutions and criticise the ones hyped up beyond reason.Only time will tell whether the business model is a success, so we will have to wait and see.

Commenter

Quantum of Solace

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

December 15, 2011, 7:15AM

@QoS"public sentiment will be a major determinant, hence my cynicism"

You've got yourself a nice self fulfilling prophecy there. It won't get anywhere without support, therefore I wont support it. All that attitude does is maintain the status quo, which I think we can all agree is a bad thing. Why are you against progress?

You didn't actually say a great deal, so I can't call out many errors. But near on every anti-EV argument carries less water than a broken sieve.

One you have mentioned, government support. I guess that means subsidies to the current motoring industry isn't taxpayer support? What about those to the oil and mining industries? What about petrol being excluded from the carbon tax? Or the fuel excise being frozen for years? If anything, EV supporters are the ones that have the right to feel duped when it comes to taxpayer support. The alternative receives it by the billions.

That's the first time I've ever been accused of being an optimist. I deal with practical reality, and most people usually interpret that as pessimism. The numbers support the EV, and the graphs of future costs for the rival technologies both curve in the EV's favour. You appear to be looking at the equation from the view of $20 a barrel oil, those days are long gone, it's only the current economic worries that stop it being well over $150 and beyond. The risk is in overcoming public opinion, not in the business model.